Monthly Archives: February 2017

“There comes a time in every runners life, where you have to make a decision. A decision between vengeance or walking away. When the odds are insurmountable and you have to make that instinctual choice to fight or flight. This decision has come to my runners. The attacks that the Spans made against them left them battered and raw. Close loved ones have been hurt, former teammates were slain, and their sense of safety has been taken from them. After suffering the black eye of that day, the team plans for their retaliation.

The Spans main safehouse was an old warehouse in Gladstone. With the city already on high alert, any direct assault would bring Peace Force HTR on top of them within minutes. Walker came to me for some new fake SINs and we started to discuss the plan. I offered to have other shadowrunner teams run interference to delay the HTR response time. A contact of Bowjack’s was also able to possibly delay them as well. However, I felt it was my duty to impress on the young follower of Wolf the gravity of the situation and the possible repercussions.

So the team went out and did what runners do. They scouted out the warehouse and took up a position nearby for recon work. What they didn’t expect was a fortified warehouse. While there wasn’t much in the way of magical or Astral threats, there was plenty present in meatspace. Tatters hopped into the Matrix and did some scouting. He found that the place had some decent defenses, sensor suites and was well armed and manned. Bowjack tried to do a little checking inside the warehouse with his fly-spy drone. While scouting the perimeter, he found just how good the defenses were. The sensor suites picked up on the drone and before Bowjack could react, a turret with a mounted assault rifle came out of the walls and took out the minidrone.

Tatters decided to come back for more scouting and to see if he can get the camera feeds the following day. He jacked in and entered the host again. However, this time, he had more difficulty. He wasn’t able to hack the cameras, but was present when another truck full of reinforcements and additional steel lynx drones arrived. Once the patrol IC spotted him, it was time to jack out and leave. It was clear that the Spanners were digging in and prepared for the team of shadowrunners.

So, after much debate and discussions of options, the team decided it was time to relocate their operations. This, of course, is easier for some than others. Walker needs to discuss with Black Cat on what she would like to do. Likewise, Bowjack and Felicia need to discuss and decide what they should do. Eternal and Mutt would also need to decide since they really are not on the Spans list at this time. They could very well remain in the Tir and continue on. For now, the team needs to plan their Exodus and decide on where they go. I have already offered to assist them with leaving and getting them in touch with anyone I could in the new location. While it is sad that I am losing this team of runners, I am glad that they did not go through with their plan. For the sake of the stability of Cara’Sir, and my other operational teams, the decision to leave was the best one they could have made.”

“Everything has a Price … at least that is what we are all told since we were kids. My team of runners is learning this the hard way. It seems that the strike on the library to get Tatters a new cyberdeck was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back with the Spans. From what I have gathered from my litter, the Spans struck back at them … and hard.

The Bolthole is a small little bar that in is Gresham that is run by a former Shadowrunner known as Black Cat. She is a closer personal friend of Walkers. On a normal day, the bar has its usual patrons eating and drinking and at night, it gets pretty crowded with thirsty wageslaves that are fresh off of work. This was a normal night, unfortunately. It all started with a scream from the window seats as a Ford Americar plowed through the front windows of the establishment, followed by the explosions of high explosive frag grenades and followed by even more screams. Black Cat rushes behind the bar and gets her security system running. Out from the walls pops drone turrets with mounted automatic rifles. They immediately start firing on the gangers as they seemed to flood into the bar. In the hail of gunfire from the turrets and from the gangers shooting it, along with more grenades, nearly everyone of the bar patrons was gunned down. A few of the gangers remaining were able to destroy the turrets and set their sites on the bar and unloaded with their AK-97s. Black Cat did what she could from behind the bar with her shotgun, got a call off to Walker to get some backup and was able to take out the remaining few. However, the bar turned black as she succumbed to her wounds. Laying next to her was her commlink and an open line to Walker, who heard everything.

Walker, just starting to relax from completing the last job, got the frantic call from Black Cat and immediately started making his way there on his bike. He requested the assistance of the rest of the team and, after offering payment, Viking, Eternal, Tatters and Bowjack get enroute. Tatters and Viking show up at the same time as Walker and they see the carnage of what had happened at the Bolthole. Bodies were strewn about everywhere, both patron and ganger. Walker started to make his way to the entrance, which has been replaced by the Americar, but hesitates. The faces of all the bodies … they were the faces of his friend. Nearly succumbing to the reality of what he might face, he finds the resolve to continue in. Meanwhile, Tatters drops into VR and provides Matrix overwatch and monitors for the Peace Force HTR teams. Viking and Walker walk into the bar, stepping over the bodies and debris. He catches a glimpse of a leg wearing a chameleon suit and her familiar looking shotgun on the side of the bar. Slowly, he walks up and sees the body of Black Cat, but she is still alive! Severely wounded, but still alive. He hit her with a heal spell as Tatters announces that HTR is enroute and close. Eternal shows up by Johnny Cab and they load her in and flee the area.

Meanwhile … Felicia is closing up the Celebrate It! shop and getting ready to leave for the night. She is surprised as a Suzuki Mirage flies through the front window and crashes into the front desk she is standing behind. Stunned from the explosion of glass and wood, she doesnt notice the pair of gangers that walk in with their AK-97s. Once she notices them, she flees to the back office and locks the door. Grabbing her commlink, she calls her boyfriend, Bowjack. Just as he picks up, the gangers shoot their way through the door and grab her. She was able to tell him that she is at the shop but then the call trails off to the sounds of screams and more gunfire. They pull her out of the building by her hair, across the shattered glass and into the waiting Americar. Everytime she tried to resist or fight, the gangers would scream at her and punch her in the face until she stops. Once in the Americar, they leave with the remaining bikers. While inside the Americar, Felicia struggles to get loose, but they quickly smack her down. She only hoped that Bowjack was able to get to her in time. She looked out the back window and caught a glimpse of a GMC Phoenix sending one of the bikers into a nearby window. She seen Bowjack behind the wheel and smiles.

Bowjack, who is also just fresh off of the run, stopped to get some waffles and relax. While waiting for the waffles, he gets the message from Walker about the incident at the Bolthole. He makes another order to go and fires up the Phoenix to make his way there. However, shortly after that, he gets the call from Felicia. Frantically looking around, he knows that the office is nearby. He slams the Phoenix in a u-turn, unleashes the Detroit muscle and flies down alleyways an streets towards the office. He blew through stop lights and signs and turning down an alleyway that leads right to the office, he spots a black Ford Americar fly by with bikers riding Suzuki Mirages wearing the leathers of Spanners. Without hesitation or caution, he drifts out of the alleyway and runs down the first of the bikers. The other didnt stand much of a chance as the Phoenix causes the biker to slam into a parked car. The bikers try to shoot at Bowjack, but the bullets are either wide or bounce off the car. Felicia tries to get out of the window to let Bowjack know she is in there, but is pushed back and beaten while a ganger props himself out the window and fires with his AK-97. The spray of bullets riddle the hood and windshield of the car. Slamming the gas, Bowjack makes a couple of attempts to stop the Americar with a PIT maneuver, and the second one takes hold. The Americar looses traction and slams into the bikers, sending them both into nearby parked cars. The front end of the Americar catches on a parked car and goes into an end over end roll. The car slams over and over sending glass and steel everywhere. After a half dozen rolls, the car comes to a stop on its roof. The gangers inside were either ejected or dead. Bowjack pulls the Phoenix up to the remains of the car and sees Felicia’s bloody arm handing out of the window. He rushes towards her and pulls her out of the wreckage. She was still alive, but barely. He gently puts her in the Phoenix, hooks her up to a med kit and flees the scene. He meets up with the rest of the team at Walker’s house.

While there, Walker also hears from Sapper and finds out that Skitz was killed when the Spanners bombed his house. He fleed with some members of the Sons of Gimli to one of their safehouses. He also gets a call from Susan, also known as Vixen and is the leader of the Shooters, and is notified that the Hooters was hit. Her and Pwoner were the only survivors. She regretted to inform him that Rae, also a former member of the team, was killed during the assault. After all the news, Walker takes Black Cat to the back bedroom and Bowjack pulls the Phoenix into the garage and sets the Roadmaster make its way there, then gets back to caring for Felicia. Viking, Eternal and Tatters are all keeping an eye on things and discussing the events of the night.

It first started with the sound of motorcycles down the street. Eternal was the first to notice them just as the spanners launched another Americar through the front window of the house, which was immediately followed up by a high ex grenade. Eternal, who was the only one that noticed the attack, grabbed the grenade and threw it back towards the bikers in the front lawn. The two gangers in the Americar were quickly dealt with by both Eternal and Viking. Bowjack eases the fragile injured body of Felicia off the couch and on the floor, then flips the couch for cover from the gunfire. It was Tatters that brought this to a violent end as he hacked the other high ex grenade that one of the bikers had. The explosion was enough to kill the remaining bikers and leave a large whole in the front yard. Conveniently, Bowjacks Roadmaster pulls up just in time to make their escape. The Phoenix rams its way out of the garage and they team, plus Felicia and Black Cat load into the Taco Tank and flee to a coffin motel that Eternal stays at. They assume it is safe since Eternal has not been with the team long and it may not be known to them.

Black Cat recovers from her injuries and discusses the events with Walker. Bowjack, concerned for Felicia’s safety has me get her a plane ticket out of town. I set it up and also arrange for her to stay at a safehouse in Seattle. Now the team gets ready and plans for an assault on the Spanners main location, an abandoned warehouse on the lower Willamette River in Gladstone.”

“So after the fiasco with the library, the team finally gets to where they can complete the job. As the had planned, they successfully acquired the laundry delivery van while it was enroute, without harming the drivers. They were also successfully able to gain entry into the loading docs of the tower. Tatters took up a spot in a maintenance closet and started his matrix overwatch. The rest of the team loaded up their gear in the laundry carts and headed up the freight elevator to the 56th floor. Unlike during the recon time, there were no guards present when they arrived. Tatters successfully cleared the way by looping the cameras on the hallways. Still no guards or security arrived. They gained entry into the vault and located the correct safe deposit box, then the security arrived. There was a pretty strong water spirit that appeared in the vault, along with a pair of guards that came in on the regular elevators. Walker attempted, and nearly succeeded, in destroying the spirit with a manabolt spell. However, it turned bad for him as the spirit knocked him unconscious. As it manifested, Mutt pumped it full of lead from his automatic and finished it off. Hearing the gunfire, the guards call for back up and rush to the vault. Only to be surprised and stumble over each other as they come up on an awaiting Eternal, with sword drawn, and Mutt. The guards had no chance with the the prepared shadowrunners. Now that there was an alarm set, Ajax grabs the safe deposit box and they team begins their exit strategy, down the elevators, grabbed tatters and fleed the building. On the way out of there, they paused to check the box and found it empty. After despair started to set in, Ajax found a false bottom and it revealed the commlink and chips that were requested. They met with the Johnson and was paid. However, their actions may have upset the balance of things within Cara’Sir.”

The room flickers into a view of a chrome plated cyberarm with intricate glyphs and symbols etched into it. You have seen this cyberarm before. In front of the desk the arm is resting on is a pair of orks, dressed in street leathers. The pattern and colors of the leathers denote them as members of the Spanners gang. There is a conversation going on and it seems rather intense.

“What do you mean there was an explosion?”

One of the orks speaks up
“Like I said, there was an incident at the library and there was an explosion there. The building is in ruins and Peace Force is on the scene investigating”

“So what do we know, what did the surveillance drones catch?”

The ork brings for a trid viewer and starts to play a video where there are few different angles from above showing a birds eye view of the building. The video shows an Ares Roadmaster pull up, individuals jump out and rush the building. Within a few seconds, there were explosions in the building and homeless people fleeing through the windows, followed by smoke.

“That Roadmaster .. .”

The video continues to show as the one person speeds off on a motorcycle and the others fleeing in the Roadmaster. The trid viewer then switches to a view of the inside of the building. Suddenly there was an explosion from a grenade in the middle of the room. In burst the people from the outside, all wearing masks. Commotion ensues and there are gunshots and a smoke grenade goes off, then another larger explosion goes off in the back that shook the building. The intruders flee and the sounds of the Roadmaster speeding off. It seems like seconds later, the building collapses.

The hand of the cyberarm clinches and slams into the desk.

“Get me Keys! He should have been there and I need him to track these fraggers!”

The other ork clears his throat and says “I cant do that”

“and why not,” he says in a deep voice.

The ork stiffens and says “He’s dead, Jim“. Then shows a trid video from the parking lot. It shows the decker Keys jumping through the window, then immediately followed by one of the intruders. Seconds later, the head of Keys is rolling on the pavement as its severed from his body. The video shows the intruder grabbing his cyberdeck and fleeing towards the Roadmaster.

“I want you to get this fragger where he breathes! I want you to find this nancy-boy that drives that Roadmaster and his team, I want them DEAD! I want their families DEAD! I want thier houses burned to the GROUND! I wanna go there in the middle of the night and I wanna PISS ON THEIR ASHES!”